Paul McCartney’s Daughter Spent Her Childhood Blissfully Ignorant Of Her Father’s Immense Fame

Jan 17, 2023

Sir Paul McCartney is one of the UK's national treasures, earning his name with one of the most popular bands of all time, The Beatles, and never slowing down, even in his successful solo career. Yet, for all his notability, his own daughter spent her childhood in blissful ignorance about her father’s immense fame.

Paul was one of the founding members of The Beatles, who are often considered the most influential band in pop music history ever. That's no small feat. Despite only being active for 10 years together, the "Fab Four" from Liverpool, England, left an indelible mark on music history and pop culture.

While his Beatles days might be behind him, Paul does make it a point to carry on the legacy of the beloved band, as well as its late members, John Lennon and George Harrison. The songwriting partnership between Paul and Lennon was iconic and is still considered to be one of the most fruitful musical pairings in history. The Beatles is the best-selling music act of all time, having sold 183 million units in the US and an estimated 600 million units globally.

After the Beatles dissolved, Paul launched a solo music career and formed other bands, including with his late wife, Linda McCartney. They had four children together, one of whom is daughter Stella McCartney, a well-known fashion designer. Another daughter, Mary McCartney, followed in her mother's footsteps and became a photographer.

However, Linda tragically passed in 1998 from cancer. Before her passing, the family of six shared many beautiful moments together. Paul and Linda formed the band Wings after the breakup of The Beatles. Linda was also a fervent animal lover and vegetarian, something that made meal times at the McCartney table so memorable for the kids.

Linda first met Paul while on assignment as a photographer at a club in 1967. After a whirlwind romance, the pair were married on March 12, 1969. They had four children together – Mary in 1969, Stella in 1971 and James in 1977. Paul also adopted Linda’s daughter from a previous marriage, Heather. 

During the 29 years Paul and Linda were married, their family spent a lot of time away from the prying eyes of the press at the musician’s farmhouse in Scotland. There, the children would roam the lands freely as their mother took photographs of her beautiful family. Linda was also a staunch animal lover, and in 1975, both she and her husband became vegetarians. Paul said they would often cook together, as he recalled: “I would say, ‘Anything you’d like me to do?’ And one thing I didn’t mind doing was chopping the onions – even though it made me very emotional… I’d even cry sometimes! I quite liked chopping the onions, I liked the idea of sparing Linda the tears.” 

Linda became more vocal about their lifestyle shift, as she famously said she would never “eat anything with a face,” and coined the expression: “If slaughterhouses had glass walls the whole world would be vegetarian.” Her passion for vegetarian dishes led her to create cookbooks as well as her own frozen food company, Linda McCartney Foods. 

Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer and passed away in 1998 at the age of 56, but not before leaving her husband and children with irreplaceable memories and inspiring them with her life choices. Paul himself went on to publish “The Meat-Free Monday Cookbook,” while the family also worked together to release “Linda McCartney's Family Kitchen” in June 2021, featuring more than 100 plant-based recipes.

For their daughter Mary, food was always a big deal growing up, and her memories of childhood weren’t of indulging in the privilege of having a famous father – in fact, she wasn’t even aware he was famous!

She told Closer the family was more interested in discussing food rather than music. She said:

“I have a lot of fond memories of talking about flavors and coming up with ideas together. We would always talk about how to fill that gap in the middle of the plate.”

Mary followed in her mother’s footsteps not only by becoming a photographer but also by developing a passion for vegan and vegetarian food. She published two plant-based cookbooks – “Food: Vegetarian Home Cooking” in 2013 and “At My Table: Vegetarian Feasts for Family and Friends” in 2015. She told Closer she found inspiration in some of her warmest memories of her mother that centered around food, while Linda’s cream of tomato soup was among her favorite recipes: “When I needed comfort, I asked her to make it. I would always have it with lots of toast. It was just warming and made me feel safe.”

That feeling of safety was bolstered by the fact that Mary’s famous parents never made a show about their celebrity status, and it was never at the forefront of their lives together.

“When you’re within it, you don’t really notice it so much,” she remarked, adding her father always encouraged all his children to pursue their own passions. “He said just follow your heart and try not to be swayed too much by what people think of you,” she added.

Mary did just that, and now, you can watch her put a plant-based spin on some of your favorite recipes in the Discovery+/Food Network series “Mary McCartney Serves It Up.”

What do you think of Paul and Linda McCartney’s parenting style? Is food also a passionate subject discussed in your family? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to foodies, friends and family, too.